Pearson Ferguson (1909–1985) was a Scottish professional footballer who played in the Scottish League for Ayr United, Queen of the South, Morton, Montrose and East Stirlingshire, for Cork in the Irish Free State League, and for Carlisle United in the English Football League. He played as an outside left.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Pearson Ferguson[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 1909[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Coalburn,[1] Scotland | ||
| Date of death | 1985 (aged 75–76) | ||
| Place of death | Greenock, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Outside left | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Kello Rovers | |||
| 1929–1931 | Ayr United | 54 | (20) |
| 1931–1932 | Cork | (21) | |
| 1932–1933 | Ayr United | 18 | (5) |
| 1933 | Queen of the South | 4 | (1) |
| 1933–1935 | Carlisle United | 68 | (19) |
| 1935–1937 | Morton | 39 | (30) |
| 1937–1938 | Montrose | 17 | (10) |
| 1938–1939 | East Stirlingshire | 29 | (13) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Life and career
editFerguson was born in Coalburn, South Lanarkshire, the younger brother of Willie Ferguson, who went on to play for Chelsea and play for and manage Queen of the South.[3] Like his brother, Pearson began his football career with Kello Rovers,[1] the junior team local to the family home in Kirkconnel, Dumfries and Galloway.[3] He moved on to Ayr United, and was playing for that club in the First Division in the 1929–30 season.[4]
He moved to Ireland in the 1931 close season to join Cork.[5] He scored in the opening match of the season as Cork came back from two goals down to secure a 3–3 draw away to Dolphin,[6] scored in the next match, a 2–2 draw with Shamrock Rovers,[7] scored twice in the third, a 6–0 demolition of Jacobs,[8] and in the fifth, exploited his pace to contribute four goals to a 5–3 defeat of Waterford.[9] He finished the 22-game season with 21 goals, which made him the League of Ireland's top scorer (jointly with Waterford's Jack Forster) and helped his club finish runners-up to Shamrock Rovers.[10][11]
Like most of the "cross-Channel" players who had played in Ireland that season,[12] Ferguson returned home, where he rejoined Ayr United.[1] He then played five times for Queen of the South in the second half of the 1932–33 season,[3] before moving south of the border to join Carlisle United of the Third Division North.[1] In the second of his two seasons in England, he was Carlisle's leading scorer, but with only eleven goals as they finished bottom of the league.[13]
Ferguson then returned to Scotland and spent four more seasons in the second division: two with Morton (plus one appearance in the top tier at the start of a third after helping them to promotion in the 1936–37 season) before moving on to Montrose then East Stirlingshire for a year apiece.[14]
Honours
edit- Individual
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League players' records 1999 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
- ^ Statutory registers – Births – Search results, ScotlandsPeople
- ^ a b c McLean, Kirk. "Willie Ferguson". Queen of the South F.C. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "09 Nov 1929 Ayr United 3 Hearts 1". London Hearts Supporters Club. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "New players for Cork". Irish Times. 24 July 1931. p. 11.
- ^ "Brilliant recovery by Cork". Irish Times. 24 August 1931. p. 11.
- ^ "Draw at Cork". Irish Times. 31 August 1931. p. 11.
- ^ "Association football". Weekly Irish Times. 12 September 1931. p. 3.
- ^ "Ferguson's four at Waterford". Irish Times. 21 September 1931. p. 11.
- ^ a b "Ireland – List of Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
- ^ Hodgson, Malcolm & Doesburg, Allard (21 November 2012). "(Republic of) Ireland League Tables". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Opening league games". Irish Times. 20 August 1932. p. 11.
- ^ "Season-by-Season 1930–39". Carlisle United Online Archive. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ John Litster (October 2012). "A Record of pre-war Scottish League Players". Scottish Football Historian magazine.
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